Swirly Whirly Strawberry Meringues

This is a great recipe to use for all kinds of meringue desserts from individual nests to piped meringue kisses. It can also be the topping for a fabulous lemon meringue pie or a classic pavlova. It uses the Swiss meringue technique of heating the sugar and egg white to dissolve and melt the sugar and then whisking to stiff shiny peaks.

Preheat the oven to 160°C/140°C fan/gas mark 3. Line three baking sheets with non-stick baking parchment.

Prepare the compote by placing the strawberries in a large saucepan with the sugar and heating gently until the strawberries release their juices and start to bubble. Simmer gently for about 6-7 minutes until the strawberries are softened with a thickened syrupy sauce. Stir through the vanilla paste and set aside to cool.

Make the meringues by putting the egg whites into a large heatproof mixing bowl and add the caster sugar. Set the bowl over a pan of barely simmering water and whisk – this is far easier done using a handheld electric mixer. Whisking constantly, allow the sugar to dissolve, and as soon as the mixture feels slightly warm on the finger, remove the bowl from the heat and whisk vigorously until you have a very smooth, stiff meringue – a good 5 minutes or so.

Spoon in 4 teaspoons of the syrup from the Strawberry compote and using a large metal spoon swirl through into the meringue making sure you don’t overmix. Spoon heaped rounds of the meringue, spaced apart, onto the baking sheets. They look great when they have swirls and peaks and so don’t smooth them down too much. Put the meringues into the oven, reducing the heat to 100°C/120°C fan/gas mark 1. Bake for 2 hours then turn off the oven and open the door slightly, to allow the meringues to cool and crisp inside.

To serve whip the double cream until soft peaks and either spoon or pipe onto the meringues. Top with a few tablespoons of the compote and syrup and the sprinkle over the chopped pistachios.